Fighting Style

Weapons

Stages

Appears in

Voiced By

Jean-Edouard Miclot (KI 2013)

“

A combination of savagery and unpredictability make Sabrewulf one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet.

„

— Sabrewulf's story mode description

Baron Konrad von Sabrewulf, often just known as Sabrewulf, is one of the signature characters of the Killer Instinct franchise, and has appeared as a playable character in every title of the series since his debut in the original Killer Instinct (1994). A German aristocrat who is afflicted with the rare disease lycanthrophy, the werewolf is desperately seeking for a cure to his condition before the beast within him takes over, and the last vestiges of his humanity are lost forever.

Contents

Biography

Appearance

In the original Killer Instinct, Sabrewulf is a purple/blue-furred, humanoid werewolf with yellow eyes and long claws on his hands and feet, wearing only a tattered, green shirt. He had an abnormally small waist and a massive, upper body. However, if one reaches the end of his arc in the game, his human form is revealed to have tattered, green pants.

In Killer Instinct 2/Gold, Sabrewulf has had his arms replaced with cybernetic implants and lost his shirt, now wearing torn, red pants and a yellow sash. In both games, he has three bats accompanying him.

In Killer Instinct (2013), Sabrewulf's fur has grown longer and more ragged, and he has regrown his original arms, although they're much thinner, with needle-marked veins bulging along his biceps, and he has torn straps around his wrists and a tied cloth knot on his upper left arm. He now wears torn, gray pants instead of his red ones from the previous game.

Sabrewulf's retro costume largely mirrors his original KI outfit, but with less changes: He has white shirt instead of green and has additional belt and blue loincloth which is supposed to be pants torned up.

Personality

A torturous existence

Sabrewulf is portrayed as a tortured soul who has been through a string of bad luck ever since becoming a lycanthrope. He feels no closer to regaining his humanity as his mind is swinging back and forth between clinging to his sanity and the memories as a wealthy aristocrat or succumbing to the rest of his life in isolation as a vicious, mindless animal. He cannot speak as a werewolf and instead resorts to animalistic grunts and howls. His only desire is to find a way to become human again, and therefore, this would drive most of his decisions.

In the rebooted universe, when he was human, Konrad was a carefree aristocrat who tarnished the von Sabrewulf family name with his lack of interest in monster hunting. He was an alcoholic and an addict and enjoyed lavish parties, even by himself, although this eventually led to his downfall and transformation. After escaping from Ultratech, his addictions grew more and more and soon, he finds that he cannot escape the life of a wolf, for it calls to him like an endless drug.

Abilities

The longest-lived lycanthrope that is known to exist, Konrad von Sabrewulf has been studied extensively by ARIA. Those observations have led to a worrisome conclusion: an elderly werewolf represents a much greater danger than a younger one. While the losses in strength and dexterity a lycanthrope suffers from old age are negligible, the heightened animality and ancient instincts they embrace will do more than compensate. This has caused Ultratech to summarily classify Sabrewulf as "one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet."

Ultratech is not alarmist in that assessment. Even with his body in an elderly, dilapidated state, Konrad exhibits frightening swiftness and vigor; steered by decades of experience in stalking and devouring any living things unlucky enough to have crossed his path. Sabrewulf not only is highly unpredictable and savagely feral, but displays moments of deadly patience as well as a strange sense of self-preservation. These traits have turned the aging werewolf into a grizzled survivor, and the apex predator of almost any environment he finds himself in.

Extended Story

Since the day when a wolfbite left him afflicted with a particularly virulent strain of lycanthropy, Count Von Sabrewulf has lived in exile in his remote mountain tower, shunned by society, and struggling with insanity as his disease grows steadily worse. A handful of years back his worst nightmare was realized when he failed to revert to human form at all. Every rumor of a possible cure has been at best a hoax, so when a message arrives promising salvation should he enter and win the Ultratech contest, Sabrewulf is highly suspicious but obliged to seize any chance that comes his way.

Ending

With victory, Sabrewulf obtains the cure he sought for so long from the hands of Ultratech. Cured at last of his curse, Count Von Sabrewulf can return to leading a normal existence.

Killer Instinct 2

Story

Unwilling to succumb to the beast within him, Sabrewulf was badly beaten in the KI tournament. Captured by Ultratech, he is driven berserk by their "repairs" and now has only revenge to live for.

Extended Story

Defeated early in the KI tournament by his reluctance to unleash the beast within, Sabrewulf was heading home, injured and despairing, when he was caught and beaten by an ignorant, sadistic country lynch mob. Barely alive, he ended up back in the hands of Ultratech who set about making their ungodly ‘repairs’. But the pain, loss and humiliation rapidly drive the Count over the edge: breaking free of the company’s clutches, he lopes back into the world with only revenge to live for.

Endings

Kill Glacius

With Gargos defeated Sabrewulf pursues his search for a cure. There is nothing left for him in this time, so Sabrewulf grasps the opportunity to return home. Hope has finally vanished and life is emptier than ever. Having still found no cure, his only achievement was a petty revenge.

Don't Kill Glacius

With Gargos defeated Sabrewulf pursues his search for a cure. Sabrewulf bitterly regrets leaving alive a member of
a race he made his mortal enemy. Bereft of all hope, Sabrewulf finally succumbs to the madness of the beast. All that was once human to him is finally gone.

Killer Instinct (2013)

Story

Having endured agonizing procedures to remove his freakish cybernetic implants, Sabrewulf feels no closer to reclaiming his humanity. Barely clinging to sanity, he nurses an addiction to ancient medicines and artifacts which seem to slow his descent into savagery.

Extended Story

Endings

Spare Thunder, ULTRA Fulgore:

Sabrewulf recognizes another restless spirit in Thunder, who admires the wolf for being one with his spirit guide. Sabrewulf comes to realize he is not a man with the body of a wolf, but a wolf with the heart of a man. He accepts the beast within, and resolves to remain a lone wolf.

Spare Fulgore, ULTRA Thunder:

Bloodlust reawakened in combat, Sabrewulf directs his savagery towards the relics and medicines which promised a return to human form. Seeing them as a source of weakness, he smashes them to dust, surrendering his last vestiges of humanity. The Age of the Wolf begins.

ULTRA Both Thunder and Fulgore:

A wolf knows only survival, but a man can know victory. Triumphant against every adversary, Sabrewulf feels more human than he has in years. As the moonlight ebbs away, he feels a transformation sweep over him, and begins to wonder if he should put on a shirt.

Stage

Similarity of Interior Castle (KI) and Sabrewulf's Castle (KI2) During an Ultra Combo, an electric orb strikes all the equipment, completely wrecking the laboratory. During the slow music due to characters not moving, his remixed classic theme, "Tooth & Claw" will play.

Moveset

Combo Trait - Rapid Doubles - Sabrewulf can follow up a double with the same double of the exact same strength. Other Attributes: Sabrewulf can also dash through opponents, switching sides on the screen with them.

Instinct Mode - Feral Rage - Sabrewulf will do 25% damage to his opponent, especially if he/she blocks, which will cause a normals to chip damage his/her health; he will do normal damage once the Instinct Mode is finished. In Season 2 during the Instinct Sabrewulf gains a new mechanic known as the Feral Cancel. By pressing Heavies he can cancel any grounded move and return to his neutral stance.

Command Moves

Overpower - (Back + Heavy Punch) - Sabrewulf has his hands back and lunges forward when the Fierce button is let go. Can be charged for a while to make the attack unblockable.

Run - (Back, Forward + Kick) - Sabrewulf starts a running animation which can be followed up 3 ways.

Hamstring - (Run + Lights) - Slides below an enemy swiping his opponent's legs. Must be blocked low and can go under projectiles.

Jumping Slash - (Run + Mediums) - Jumps over the enemy for an overhead swipe. Must be blocked high and can go over projectiles.

Running Uppercut - (Run + Heavies) - Does an uppercut slash to an opponent to catch them out of the air or pop them into the air.

Eclipse - (Down, Up + Punch) - Sabrewulf claw slashes a cresent above his head to catch enemies out of the air.

Shadow Attacks

Shadow Ragged Edge - (Back, Forward + Two Punches) - Sabrewulf does a series of five slashes to his opponent.

Shadow Jumping Slash - (Back, Forward + Two Kicks) - Sabrewulf does a leaping overhead slash that low crushes and goes through projectiles. In Season 2 causes a Recapture, allowing you to continue a combo.

Shadow Eclipse - (Down, Up + Two Punches) - Sabrewulf does a large crescent slash over his head and has start up invincibility.

Sabrewulf twitches and roars at his defeated opponent and slashes through the victim four times before he buffs up causing his eyes and claws to glow in rage; he then dashes towards his victim and jumps towards the screen for the final slash, leaving claw marks on the screen — signifies that the victim has been instantly killed. The screen then fades back to Sabrewulf heavily breathing in relief before looking at the screen growling while the deceased victim is laying lifeless behind Sabrewulf.

Sabrewulf's name comes from a ZX Spectrum game called Sabre Wulf, which was made by Ultimate: Play the Game, a company that was later to become known as Rare. Rare & THQ released a new Sabre Wulf game on the GameBoy Advance in 2004. This game also features Sabrewulf's distinct howl.

Sabrewulf is the only character whose opponent in the first KI tournament was never revealed. It also isn't known which opponent badly injured Sabrewulf in the first Killer Instinct, the cause of his bionic arms, either. However, considering that every other character had their opponents revealed (Glacius vs. Cinder, Thunder vs. Spinal, Jago vs. Fulgore, and TJ Combo vs. Riptor), it can be assumed that Sabrewulf's opponent was Orchid. However it is stated in his KI2 ending that Glacius was a member of a race he made his mortal enemy, making Glacius a likely candidate for who maimed Sabrewulf.

Kevin Bayliss, an artist of the original Killer Instinct, claimed in his Twitter hashtag #killerinstinctfacts that Sabrewulf was originally going to transform back into his human form as a weakness. However, the mechanic proved too complicated and was scrapped.

Jean-Edouard Miclot, the sound designer at Double Helix, performed Sabrewulf's voice in the 2013 game. A YouTube video by Miclot explains that the voice was created by blending his gritted human vocals with animal sounds, which included an english bull terrier, labradors, jaguars, lions, lynx, elephants and bears.

Sabrewulf's emblem in Killer Instinct (2013) interestingly shows a razor-clawed werewolf's paw. This is undoubtably the same werewolf paw that Konrad, back when he was human, accidentally cut himself with during one of his drunken stumblings. The mounted and severed paw passed on its lycan curse to Konrad, turning him into a werewolf.

The paw would later reappear in the fourth chapter of the KI Novella as Mira tried to use it to kill Sabrewulf, however, it instead amplified his lycan powers and increased his muscles, claws, and body mass; she had inadvertently activated his Instinct Mode.